INQUISITR.COM / Sports

Tony Parker Announces Season Debut: When Is Kawhi Leonard Coming Back? San Antonio Spurs Saddened By Absence

By Glenn Hadley
Published on: 15:59 PST, Nov 26, 2017

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker announced his triumphant return to the court, but fans are still concerned about Kawhi Leonard and when they should expect to see him playing again as well.

Parker used his official Facebook page and the hashtag #ImBack to address fans of the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, confirming his hopes of being able to suit up and play with his team against the Dallas Mavericks Monday night.

“Get ready, Spurs Nation. I’m coming back on [sic] tomorrow’s game against Dallas! I’m really excited to play again. It has been some tough months with a lot of recovery, patience and mental strength.”

Keep in mind that Tony Parker has not played a game since his epic quadriceps injury suffered during the Spurs’ postseason run earlier this year. According to the IB Times, Parker ruptured a tendon in his left quadriceps muscle during Game 2 against the Houston Rockets. If he, in fact, does return to the court in his No. 9 jersey ready for action Monday night, that would cap the total number of games he has missed since his injury at 19.

Quite a few people classified Tony Parker’s injury as a “career-ending” misfortune. However, Tony Parker must have used his burning passion for the game and reuniting with his Spurs teammates as a driving force throughout his recovery.

During an interview back in September, the 35-year-old 4-time NBA champion the reasons for his overall frustration.


Parker stated that his frustration primarily came from the fact that both he and the team were performing well up until the moment of his injury. However, he made it crystal clear that the idea of calling it a career and moving on from the NBA never crossed his mind.

“Never in my mind was I sad or I thought I would never come back. All those people were saying that. But I didn’t even listen, because I was more frustrated that I couldn’t be there for my team in the conference finals… The rest, for me, in my mind, I was coming back. There was no way I wasn’t coming back.”

Even though the news of Tony Parker potentially making his season debut against the Mavericks is great news for San Antonio, it seems as if the main focus is still on Kawhi Leonard and whether or not he will also recover from his injury in the foreseeable future and prepare for a triumphant return of his own.

Even Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admitted to ESPN that he has never witnessed the type of injury and aftermath that Kawhi Leonard is experiencing right now. According to his statement, what makes it even more strange is that Tony Parker suffered the same injury but was in worst condition.

“They had to go operate on his quad tendon and put it back together or whatever they did to it… To have two guys, that’s pretty incredible. I had never seen it before those guys.”

After the news of Tony Parker’s probable return first started circulating, a vast number of people responded and reacted to the news through Twitter. However, it seemed as if the absence of Kawhi Leonard served to be a footnote of sorts to Tony Parker’s exciting news.

As Spurs fans get excited about seeing Tony Parker return, they will still suffer the bittersweet reality of not having Kawhi Leonard on the court to join him.

[Featured Image by Darren Abate/AP Foto]

Share this article: Tony Parker Announces Season Debut: When Is Kawhi Leonard Coming Back? San Antonio Spurs Saddened By Absence
More from Inquisitr